1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safety line traveler, particularly to such a traveler for use in a fall arrest or fall safety system.
2. State of the Art
In order to protect personnel from falls when working at height it is usual and often a legal requirement, to provide an elongate safety line running across a length of the area in which the personnel are to work. The personnel are attached to the safety line by a lanyard which is provided with a traveler to which the lanyard is secured. The traveler is fixed to the safety line such that it can travel along the safety line. The flexible lanyard is connected at its other end to a harness worn by the user. When connected the user can move with respect to the safety line, tension on the lanyard as the user moves causes the traveler to be dragged to move along the safety line.
The safety line is anchored at each end. In order to allow a long uninterrupted length of safety line a number of intermediate supports are typically provided to support the safety line at predetermined positions along its length. The traveler and supports are designed to cooperate such that the traveler can automatically pass the along the safety line past the intermediate supports with the minimum of interference or snagging.
Such a safety line system having intermediate supports and a traveler arranged to pass along the safety line past the intermediate supports is disclosed in for example WO02/092171. In the system disclosed the intermediate supports are provided with deflector or guide surfaces arranged to abut the traveler on approach to the intermediate support so as to re-orientate the traveler to enable smooth passage past the intermediate support.
The issue is to orientate the slot in the traveler to permit the traveler to move smoothly past the intermediate support when the lanyard is tending to pivot or rotate the traveler out of the optimum alignment for passage past the intermediate support.
In so called horizontal systems (often used on roof top structures) the safety line is typically positioned at waist height and the user often lifts the lanyard held in one hand when walking adjacent the safety line. This causes the traveler to rotate on the safety line to a position in which the traveler is orientated out of the optimum alignment for passage past the intermediate support. As a result the traveler will impact with the intermediate support and snag or jolt.
Similar problems can exist for overhead safety line systems.